Crime

Downtown Morgan Hill merchants have reported a flurry of recent attempts by customers to pass suspicious $100 bills for retail purchases. The owners of at least six stores downtown reported the suspicious currency last week, according to Morgan Hill Downtown Association Office Manager Raquel Crowell. One of the store owners reported on Thursday that two women tried to pass a $100 bill, and refused to let her mark the note with a special pen used to detect counterfeit currency when they presented the cash to her. Another downtown store owner - Krystal Thomas of SleepPlayLove Children’s Consignment Boutique - said she received a fake $100 bill last week “that had all of the correct markings and holograms,” according to an e-mail Thomas sent to the MHDA. “It even passed the pen test.” Thomas recently purchased a “UV counterfeit bill detector” that lights up a “security strip” in higher denomination bills when the cash is placed under the light, according to her e-mail. The possibly fake $100 bill she received last week did not show a security strip when placed under the detector. She added especially with the holidays coming up, retail store owners and employees should be aware of the presence of counterfeit bills and how to detect them.“Most people are really unaware how sophisticated the counterfeit bills have become and we have found that in most cases people are unknowingly passing these bills they’ve received as change at gas stations or even from banks,” Thomas said. Staff at the Morgan Hill Downtown Association spent Monday morning getting the word out about the recent incidents. The MHDA seeks to further educate store owners and cashiers about how to detect counterfeit bills, according to Crowell.As a result of the suspicious currency last week, many stores downtown are no longer accepting $100 bills, Crowell said. Earlier this year, Morgan Hill police conducted a class for Chamber of Commerce members on how to spot counterfeit currency, and Crowell said it might be time for another such class for MHDA members. “That may help people detect counterfeit bills,” Crowell said. 

The Gilroy woman found guilty of second-degree murder on July 30 for killing her daughter and husband in a drug and alcohol-fueled car crash will be sentenced next month in San Jose.

Police arrested two men who attempted to discard a revolver and ammunition during a traffic stop, according to a press release.Morgan Hill police initiated the vehicle stop Thursday on the 17000 block of Peak Avenue just west of downtown Morgan Hill, police said.The two occupants of the vehicle immediately exited the car and started to walk away form the officers, according to the MHPD press release. The two men were ordered to stop but they continued walking. One of the men, later identified as Isaac Luna, 23 of Morgan Hill, pulled a small bag out of his pocket and threw it into nearby bushes, police said. Officers retrieved the bag and determined it was full of ammunition. Both men were detained while officers searched the surrounding area, police said. Found in a nearby parking lot was a loaded .38-caliber revolver handgun. Luna later admitted to tossing the weapon out of the vehicle. Luna and the other subject - Jason Gutierrez, 20 of Gilroy - were arrested on suspicion of possession of a loaded firearm, violation of probation, a felon in possession of ammunition and a felony warrant. Anyone with information about this incident may call MHPD at (408) 779-2101. 

Drugs: Anthony Victor Caparusso, 44, 12:50 a.m. Oct. 4 on Monterey Road at Highway 101 in Gilroy, for possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The Gilroy Police Department responded to a variety of crimes in the last week or so, including burglary, lewd or lascivious acts on an underage child and the possession of a dirk or a dagger. Arrests are recorded from the GPD's blotter dating Sept. 30 through Oct. 7.

A veteran San Mateo County Sheriff's deputy and Gilroy resident accused of routinely molesting his daughter over the course of six years appeared Tuesday in South County Superior Court in Morgan Hill, where his bond modification hearing was continued until Thursday. At that time, his defense attorney is expected to make the case for lowering his bail amount, which currently sits at $2 million.

Morgan Hill police rescued a “neglected” dog enclosed with an apparent injury in a pig pen after a resident reported the abused animal, according to police.

Property owners have multiple resources on the Web and by telephone to learn more about the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s annual fire prevention fees, according to a press release from CalFire.The outreach effort is being implemented as a result of Assembly Bill X1 29, which was signed into law July 2011, establishing a fee for fire prevention services in the 31 million acres of State Responsibility Area, according to the CalFire release. CalFire has established a website, www.firepreventionfee.org, which contains information about the fee, as well as helpful links to maps, the law language and answers to frequently asked questions. Also, a customer service call center is staffed Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to further aid homeowners who have questions about the fire prevention fee. The call center number is 1-888-310-6447. The revenue generated from the fire prevention fee pays for vital fire prevention services within the SRA, according to CalFire. Fire prevention services funded by the fee include strategic fuel reduction activities, defensible space inspections, fire prevention engineering, emergency evacuation planning, fire prevention education, fire hazard severity mapping, implementation of the State’s and local fire plans, and fire related law enforcement activities such as fire cause determination and arson investigation. Under the law, the California Board of Equalization is responsible for collecting the fee, the CalFire press release says. The bills scheduled for mailing this year are for fiscal year 2012/2013. The fee applies to the homeowner of record as of July 1, 2012, for all habitable structures within the SRA. The BOE began mailing the fire prevention fee bills July 19, 2013.